Snorting Modafinil 101: What You Need to Know

You sit down at your desk and swallow your small 200 mg modafinil tablet.

Now you need to keep yourself occupied long enough for the modafinil to take its effects— which can take as long as an hour and a half in some cases.

There must be a faster way to get the effects of modafinil.

Some people have suggested snorting the medication — a method commonly used with other drugs to deliver nearly instant effects.

Can modafinil be snorted?

Perhaps an even better question— should modafinil be shorted?

We investigate these questions and more in detail.

A Quick Primer On Modafinil

If you’re researching “snorting modafinil”, it’s likely you already know what the deal is with the drug. If this is the case, keep scrolling to the next section.

For those that don’t know what modafinil is, here’s a quick primer on the drug, and why people like to take it.

Modafinil is a eugeroic. This means its a compound that makes us feel awake.

It stimulates the brain by increasing neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, orexin, and histamine.

Prescription use of modafinil is indicated for treating conditions involving “excessive sleepiness”. This includes narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and shift work sleeping disorder.

The military has used it in their fighter pilots and special forces to keep them awake on long and tiresome missions.

Students, freelancers, and business executives often use it to enhance their productivity, allowing them to get through their heavy workloads effectively.

Modafinil also has the ability to help us concentrate on the tasks at hand. It does this by increasing dopamine concentrations in the brain which is associated with focus and concentration.

How To Buy Modafinil

Modafinil can be bought at your local pharmacy. In order to do this, you need a valid prescription from a doctor and a lot of money.

Modafinil purchased from the pharmacy can cost as much as $51 per tablet!

Another option is to buy your modafinil through online vendors like Afinil Express. 

Here, you have the option between four different types of modafinil; Modalert, Modvigil, Waklert, and Artvigil. If you enter the coupon code MODAFINILOTC during checkout you can save an additional 10% off your order.

Why People Snort Medications

The medical word for snorting a substance is called insufflation.

Insufflation doesn’t technically require someone to inhale, all it entails is that powder is blown or forced into a body cavity. This can be done with a special applicator or by snorting it using your own lung capacity.

There are Actually a Few Good Use-Cases For This Mode of Administration:

1. Asthma Medications

These medications are aerosolized drugs insufflated into the lungs to reduce swelling and inflammation. They’re life-saving medications used by millions of people each day.

2. Anesthesia

Anesthesia is the process of knocking someone out and keeping them unconscious during surgery. It involves insufflating gaseous compounds into the lungs of patients.

3. Migraine Medications

There are a few migraine medications, such as Onzetra Xsail® that are applied by snorting. It comes in a convenient applicator that allows you to insert one end of the device into your nose and the other into your mouth.

You then blow on the mouthpiece, forcing particles into your nose where they can exert their benefits quickly and effectively.

4. Flu Vaccines

There are a few flu vaccines that are offered as a nasal inhalation format instead of the traditional injection. At the moment, these vaccines are only being used in at-risk populations and are not yet given to the general public.

You can expect to see more of this in the next couple of years.

Snorting Brings Faster Effects

One of the main reasons people snort medications is because it allows the drug to enter the bloodstream faster, taking just a few seconds to start exerting its effects.

There are Two Reasons for This:

1. It Has A More Direct Route To The Bloodstream

There are thousands of tiny blood vessels at the back of your nose that allow drugs to enter the bloodstream with little effort. These capillaries have a high surface area and allow the drug to pass through and into the bloodstream very efficiently.

The journey modafinil takes in the nose is fast and very straightforward, no map needed.

Compare this to the digestive tract, and there are a lot more obstacles to face before the drug finally enters your bloodstream.

They need to first survive the acidic environment of the stomach, followed by the alkaline environment of the duodenum, followed by the interaction with other compounds taken in the form of food and drink.

It’s also at risk of being destroyed by the billions of bacterial species living inside the intestinal tract.

The journey through the digestive tract is long and harrowing. More than half of the compound is lost before ever making it into the bloodstream (only about 40–65% of modafinil is absorbed through the oral route).

2. It Avoids First Pass Liver Metabolism

The other reason why snorting is faster is that the compounds absorbed through the nose don’t go through the liver right away.

The liver detoxifies our blood. It does this by metabolizing chemicals into smaller, inactive and water-soluble compounds. Whenever we eat something, it enters our bloodstream just ahead of the liver, allowing the vast majority of it to flow directly through the liver where it gets a chance to process as much of it as it can.

This takes out a lot of the active components and can slow the onset of effects.

When you snort something, however, it enters the bloodstream far away from the liver, dramatically reducing the rate of metabolism and allowing the effects to hit harder and faster.

Snorting Makes A Drug More Effective

Snorting doesn’t allow for as much wastage as taking it orally.

This can be seen with the most commonly snorted drug, cocaine.

If you were to eat the same amount of cocaine that you snort, you would barely feel anything at all.

The bioavailability of a drug taken by snorting is significantly higher than the same drug taken orally.

Can Modafinil be Snorted?

Technically, you can snort anything that can be turned into a powder or aerosol. However, the better question might be “should you snort modafinil?”

There’s a company based out of The United States selling “snortable chocolate.” It’s called Coco Loko.

The company that makes it, Legal Lean, is marketing it as a means of delivering a steady buzz. All you have to do is rail a thick line of… chocolate?!

Sure, chocolate can be snorted… but why even bother? Chocolate tastes great and can deliver the same buzz by eating it.

Eating chocolate also comes with the benefits of not causing you to drip snotty chocolate sauce out your nose for the rest of the day. It’s not a good look no matter how buzzed you might feel.

Although nearly everything can be snorted, few things need to be.

Modafinil falls into this category as well.

The argument is that the drug can be used more efficiently if snorted than taken orally, and the effects come on faster.

Here Are 3 Arguments That Debunk These Issues

1. Modafinil Manufacturers Already Took The Absorption Issues Of Modafinil Into Account

The company that first brought modafinil to market, Cephalon Inc, was well aware of the inefficiency of modafinil absorption. This is actually very common in the world of oral pharmaceutical medications.

The solution is to figure out what the rate of absorption is (in the case of modafinil about 40–65%), then adjust the dose accordingly.

If we had a 100% absorption rate, modafinil would be sold primarily in 100 mg doses Since we know that we lose about half of it, we simply take a 200 mg dose instead.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

There’s no need to give yourself a nosebleed just to improve the effectiveness of modafinil. If we want a higher dose, simply take a higher dose orally.

2. Modafinil Costs Between $0.80 and $2.80 Per Dose

(Prices obtained from online modafinil retailer Afinil Express)

If you’re taking brand name modafinil, which can cost as much as $51 per dose, then you may have a valid reason to try and make the medications you have more efficient.

However, a better solution is to source your modafinil at a better price.

Online vendors like AfinilExpress.com sell generic versions of modafinil (which are virtually identical to brand name versions) 89% cheaper!

If you have access to cheap modafinil, you don’t need to risk damaging your nasal passage with snorting it to get the potency you want. You can simply take more of the drug if you really wanted to.

3. Waiting 45 Minutes For Modafinil To Kick In Isn’t Very Long

Modafinil is not a party drug… that is unless your idea of a party is studying particle physics all night until the early hours of the morning.

People use modafinil to keep themselves awake and to get shit done. It’s a productivity enhancer and a smart drug. If you can’t wait 45 minutes for it to kick in before spending the next 10 hours straight crossing items off your to-do list, this may not be the drug for you.

If this is a problem, try taking your modafinil before you need it. Perhaps on your way to work, or while you eat so that it starts to kick in around the time you’re all finished and ready to get started kicking your to-do list’s ass.

The Problem With Snorting Modafinil

Snorting modafinil effectively isn’t as easy as you might hope.

Powdered drugs, like Onzetra or cocaine, are manufactured with snorting in mind. They don’t have any binders or fillers.

They don’t have these compounds because they don’t need them.

Tablets on the other hand, almost always have binding and filling agents because if they didn’t, they would fall apart in your hands long before you ever got them into your mouth.

These binder and filler agents can be harsh on the nasal passage and will damage the tiny capillaries lining the nostrils.

Can You Remove The Fillers?

Fillers in modafinil can be removed, but not easily.

They need to be dissolved into a solvent and recrystallized to purify the modafinil.

Other methods involve centrifuges, which spin a mixture of modafinil and solvent at high speeds to separate the compounds by weight.

Most people looking to snort modafinil don’t have these tools available to them to go through this process.

Snorting Modafinil Safely

Although it’s probably clear by now that we don’t recommend you snort your modafinil, mostly due to the fact that it’s unnecessary, it can damage your nose, and is a pain in the ass to do correctly, here’s how it can be done should you still want to try it.

1. Grind the Modafinil Into A Fine Powder

In order to snort modafinil, it needs to be ground up into as fine a powder as possible.

Any large pieces are going to enter your nose like a piece of glass, tearing apart the walls and damaging capillaries. This will cause pain and bleeding and may gradually start to diminish your sense of smell. It can also make it easier for infection to set into the damaged tissue, increasing your chances of developing sinus infections.

The best way to do this is with a mortar and pestle.

2. Cut It Up Even More With A Razor Blade

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is that the powder is as fine as possible. After you think its powdered enough from the mortar and pestle, place it on a piece of glass or another hard surface and cut it up with a razor blade.

The final product should be finer than dust.

Some people will even sift this through a 5 or 10-micron screen to make sure they’ve powdered it enough.

3. Weigh Out 100 mg Or Less

Since the absorption rate through snorting is so much more efficient, you need to take a smaller dose to receive the same effects. Underestimating this can cause you to take too much, which comes with all kinds of unwanted side effects.

Start with about 100 mg or less.

4. Insufflate Using a Tube or Sniffer Tool

The next step is to snort it.

You can do it the old fashioned way by rolling up paper bills ($100 bills work best, we’re told) and snorting it through the middle.

You can also buy powder sniffers that add some style to your snorting experience. Some will even allow you to sort through both noses, which helps prevent concentrating it into one nostril only.

Share the love right?

Conclusion

Although it’s possible to snort modafinil, we don’t recommend it.

Modafinil comes in doses carefully designed to take into account wastage during the absorption process. It contains binding and filler agents that are necessary during the manufacturing process to keep the tablet together without falling apart. Many of these compounds can damage the sensitive capillaries in the nose.

Keep the powders for snorting and the tablets for swallowing.

Modafinil works perfectly fine as a tablet and snorting it will only take extra effort, can be damaging to the body, and serves us little benefit.

Modafinil: The Real Life NZT-48 and CPH4 Smart Drugs?

Imagine you could take a pill that allowed you to go from using 10% of your brain to 100%.

How much smarter would you be? If you were using more of your brain power, maybe you could even develop new abilities like telepathy.

This is the storyline for the movie Lucy, whereby a drug called CPH4 leaks into the stomach of a drug mule (Scarlett Johansson), giving her profound intelligence and special abilities.

This is similar to the storyline of another movie, Limitless, in which a drug called NZT-48 makes the protagonist (Bradley Cooper) excel at everything he does.

Do these incredible performance-enhancing drugs exist? Is modafinil the closest real-world substitute?

What is NZT-48?

NZT is a fictional medication from the movie Limitless.

The main character, played by Bradley Cooper, is a struggling writer who discovers a new designer drug called NZT-48 through a friend.

After trying the drug, he maximizes his brain’s potential— He becomes more observant, is able to recall experiences in great depth, and learns complex ideas in a short amount of time. His first milestone was publishing a novel — the best writing he’s ever produced — in a single night.

His brain goes into overdrive. He doesn’t feel tired, he’s extremely productive, his attention to detail is out of this world, and he becomes suave and charismatic.

When he gets more of the drug, his potential seems, well, Limitless.

With his new abilities, his success and wealth skyrocket. Cooper’s character goes on to makes millions of dollars on the stock market, and then essentially bluffs his way to the top of a large corporation.

Unfortunately, the drug comes with some adverse side effects, and as he finds out, several other people who tried the drug before him have since passed away after suffering a series of terrible headaches.

What is CPH4?

Like NZT-48 from Limitless, CPH4 is a designer drug from a fictional movie called Lucy. The drug allows the brain to access 100% of its total capacity, producing significant improvements in all forms of intelligence (emotional, logical, and kinesthetic intelligence).

This relies on the belief that the brain only uses 10% of its capacity to begin with, however, as we’ll discuss in detail later on, this is actually a myth. The human brain is very efficient and doesn’t waste any space or energy.

We use all of our brain.

In Lucy, the main character, played by Scarlett Johansson, is a drug mule transporting a new experimental medication in her stomach. After being beaten and kicked by some thugs, the package in her stomach tears, releasing the drug in high doses into her bloodstream.

Johansson’s character gradually gains access to other areas of her brain and virtually transcends human existence. She becomes able to communicate through the internet and can even control things with her mind.

Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?

Are the Effects of These Drugs Possible?

The idea that a pill that can be used to make us more intelligent, better at communicating with people, and even telekinetic is alluring, — to say the least, but is it possible?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as NZT-48 or CPH4, despite the fact that you can find scam products by this name online. There’s an alternative, but there are of course some key differences in how it works.

Debunking NZT-48 & CPH4

In the Movie Lucy, CPH4 is explained to work by increasing the brain’s capacity from 10% to 100%.

This makes sense on paper but requires you to believe that the brain isn’t using 90% of its hardware — which simply isn’t the case.

The 10% myth is one of those common myths that’s been passed around so much over the years that it’s become “common knowledge,” despite being fundamentally incorrect.

Our brains are extremely efficient, and we do in fact use 100% of the brain. Nothing is wasted.

This myth is most likely to have come from the work of neurologist, William James.

He stated that we use 10% of our brain’s latent mental energy. This doesn’t suggest that 90% of our brains isn’t doing anything, it means that we mostly run on “idle” and rev up the engine as we need.

This was misquoted in a popular book by Lowell Thomas called, How To Win Friends and Influence People.

Lowell stated that the average person “develops only 10 percent of his latent mental ability” — A simple misquote, but a fundamental difference in meaning.

NZT-48 is similar, though the mechanism in which the drug exerted its effects was not disclosed in the movie. Nevertheless, there doesn’t exist a drug that can raise IQ levels to four digit numbers like it did in the movie.

The Reality of What Nootropics Can Do

Nootropics can do a lot for us. They can improve the rate at which our neurons send signals, improve the brain’s ability to resist and recover from overexertion, and even improve neurotransmitter function.

Most nootropics will give us a cognitive boost in some form or another, however, there are no medications or supplements available at this time that can actually increase our IQ — and there certainly isn’t anything that can give us telekinetic powers.

Nootropics are useful for people looking to boost their cognitive performance during work or study, or simply support healthy brain function on a daily basis.

Modafinil: The Best Real World Alternative to These Fictional Smart Drugs

Out of all the nootropics on the market today, modafinil is the closest real-world NZT-48 or CPH4. In fact, NZT-48 is reportedly based off modafinil itself, just with a few exaggerations.

Most nootropics have subtle effects on cognitive performance, and may even take several days of repeated use before any real effects are noticed. Modafinil, on the other hand, offers profound benefits after a single dose.

The drug is technically used to make us feel alert and awake but has the secondary benefit of increasing dopamine levels in the brain. This effect causes direct improvements in learning, memory, and concentration.

Modafinil can turn us into “machines” at work or school.

People often spend upwards of 10 or 15 hours working non-stop on a project after taking modafinil.

Although modafinil isn’t going to give you super intelligence, it can make you a lot more efficient at work— even extending the available working hours by as many as 20 hours!

This can be seen to some extent in Limitless when Bradley Cooper takes NZT-48 and spends many hours writing or playing the stock market without fatigue.

Just like modafinil, it isn’t until the drug wears off that the fatigue starts to set in.

Buying Modafinil Online

There are a few ways you can get some modafinil for yourself.

You can agree to pay a fortune and get brand name modafinil from your local pharmacy after obtaining a doctor’s prescription.

A smarter method is to buy your modafinil from an online vendor like Afinil Express. If using this vendor, enter the coupon code MODAFINILOTC during checkout to save an additional 10%.

Buying your modafinil online means you don’t need a prescription, and you only pay a fraction of the price. Learn more about why high-quality modafinil is so much cheaper online.

How Modafinil Works

Modafinil works by stimulating areas of the brain associated with the sleep-wake cycle. More specifically, it stimulates all of the “waking” elements of the sleep-wake cycle, forcing us into a waking state for several hours.

It’s rare to find yourself feeling tired and sluggish after an 8-hour workday when taking modafinil. Most people can go more like 10 or 15 hours of working before they even start to feel tired.

Stimulating The Central Nervous System

Modafinil stimulates 3 main neurotransmitters in the brain:

1. Orexin: The Sleep-Wake Cycle

Orexin is a neuropeptide in the brain that carries out the functions of the waking portion of the sleep-wake cycle.

It travels from deep within the brain to other areas including the cerebral cortex.

Once there, it stimulates the area, making us feel alert.

People with dysfunctional orexin systems develop a condition called narcolepsy, which leaves suffers feeling excessive tiredness throughout the day, and may even doze off unexpectedly.

Modafinil is the primary drug used by doctors for treating this condition due to its ability to increase the activity of orexin.

In healthy people, it increases orexin even if the body is naturally limiting the release of the compound (causing sleepiness). We can effectively kickstart our brains to get into an awakened state even if we would normally feel very tired and ready to fall asleep.

2. Histamine: Stimulating The Brain

Histamine has many functions in the body. One of the most important, and certainly the most well-known, is during an allergic reaction. It causes local swelling, runny nose, and itchiness.

In the brain, histamine has an entirely different role, however.

Histamine has a stimulating effect on the brain.

Like orexin, histamine plays an important role in the sleep-wake cycle. When it’s released, it tells the brain to enter a state of arousal and stimulation.

3. Dopamine: The Reward Center

Modafinil also increases dopamine concentrations in the brain.

Dopamine is a versatile neurotransmitter with several vital jobs.

One of the most important is to regulate the reward center in the brain.

This special region is used to develop habits and routines in our daily life. If we do something the brain perceives to be beneficial, the reward center gives us a hit of oxytocin, which makes us feel good.

It programs deeper areas of our brain to want to do this activity again to get another dose of oxytocin.

This system is essential during the process of learning and concentrating on tasks.

People with low dopamine concentrations in the brain (such as people living with ADD or ADHD) often have difficulty concentrating because their brain needs to work extra hard to get the reward center to dose them with oxytocin.

This causes sufferers to become fidgety and easily distracted.

Modafinil is often used to improve concentration, especially in those with ADHD because it increases dopamine concentrations, allowing the reward center to activate more easily.

It allows us to concentrate on something for extended periods of time before seeking stimulation elsewhere.

What to Expect From Modafinil

Now that we know how modafinil works, and why it’s different from the fictional drugs NZT-48 and CPH4, let’s get into what you can expect when taking modafinil.

How Long It Takes To Set In

Modafinil takes about 1–2 hours to start to produce effects. This depends a lot on how much you’ve eaten beforehand and what you’ve eaten.

This is because when taking modafinil (or any drug for that matter) along with food, the food and modafinil compete with each other for absorption.

This means that it’s going to take a little longer before the effects of the drug start to show themselves.

This isn’t a bad thing, and it’s recommended that you take modafinil after a meal because of some of its negative side effects on suppressing appetite.

What Modafinil Feels Like

Modafinil won’t make you feel smarter like the drugs in the movies do, but it will make you feel more awake, and a LOT more focused on the task at hand.

It’s these effects that make modafinil so useful for students, creatives, and business professionals working on tough and mentally tasking activities.

People often report feeling like they can completely “tune in” to what they’re working on.

Many people also report feeling as though their memory retention is more efficient after taking modafinil. Instead of having to remind themselves of the answer on the back of a cue car, for example, they tend to remember it the first time they write it down.

Learn more about what to expect when taking modafinil.

The Timeline of Modafinil

The amount of time modafinil remains active for can vary a lot from person to person, but will generally last about 16–22 hours total. Most people find that the bulk of the effects stop around the 16-hour mark.

The drug starts to take effect between 1 and 2 hours after taking it and peaks around 2 hours after that (the 4-hour mark).

It usually remains at its highest point for another 2 hours before gradually dropping off over the next 12–14 hours.

Are There Any Side Effects?

In the movie Limitless, the drug started to cause shifts in reality, severe headaches and illness when not actively on the drug. Past users of the drug had been reported to have died once their supply of the drug ran out.

In Lucy, CHP4 caused the main character to eventually become omnipotent.

Johansson transcended time and space and was able to view the origins of life on earth, the formation of the earth and the cosmos, and witnessed the big bang.

At the end of the movie, she disappeared completely. When asked where she was, they answered ominously with “I’m everywhere.”

These are some pretty strange and serious side effects to expect from a medication.

Here in the real world, the side effects are much tamer.

Modafinil can produce some side effects. However, the vast majority of them aren’t severe.

The Most Common Side Effects of Modafinil Include:

• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Appetite suppression
• Muscle tension
• Anxiety

In some rare cases, a severe allergic skin reaction can occur called Steven Johnson Syndrome.

Learn more about the side effects of modafinil and how to prevent/reverse them.

Final Thoughts

Although the drugs from the movies Limitless (NZT-48) and Lucy (CPH4) are intriguing and provide the substance for a good movie, they aren’t real.

The closest thing we have to these fictional drugs is modafinil.

Instead of giving us superintelligence, modafinil gives us a boost in productivity and concentration. It’s beneficial for people who need to get a lot of work done in a single session, such as students cramming for an exam, creatives trying to produce content, and business professionals working on a project or presentation.

Modalert vs. Modvigil vs. Waklert vs. Artvigil

So you’re looking to buy some modafinil, but you’re faced a whole bunch of options?

Modalert? Modvigil? Waklert? Artvigil?!

What’s the difference between them? Isn’t all modafinil the same?

Although modafinil is the active ingredient in all of these products, there are some differences you should be aware of when shopping online.

Here, we discuss the differences between these popular modafinil and armodafinil products, what the pros and cons of each are, and where you can find some for yourself.

Modafinil vs. Armodafinil

In this article, we’re going to be discussing four different products, but to do that, we need to differentiate between modafinil and armodafinil.

Modafinil is the active ingredient in both modafinil and armodafinil. What makes them different is something called an “enantiomer.”

An enantiomer is a set of compounds with the same formula and structure, but mirror images of each other.

It’s like your right and left hand— they’re both considered hands, yet are mirror images of each other. There’s a clear difference between the right hand and the left hand.

You can place them on top of each other but only if you flip one upside down.

Modafinil contains a mixture of both left-handed (S-modafinil) and right-handed (R-modafinil) versions.

Chemists would call this a “racemic” mixture.

Armodafinil, however, only has the right-handed (R-modafinil) enantiomers. A chemist would refer to this as being an “enantiopure compound” (all enantiomers are identical).

What is Modafinil?

Modafinil was the first of the two compounds that were discovered. The first generation was a drug called adrafinil.

It was a prodrug, which means that it wasn’t the active constituent. Instead, the drug had to first be metabolized by the liver into the active version, modafinil, and the inactive version, modafinilic acid.

Researchers later discovered that if they synthesized the active metabolite only, the effects would be faster acting, stronger, and more reliable overall.

This lead to the development of modafinil. The company that produced it, Cephalon Inc, calls this product Provigil®.

Provigil® has Several Important Effects on the Brain:

• It inhibits dopamine reuptake (improving concentration)
• It increases orexin concentrations (promoting wakefulness)
• It inhibits norepinephrine reuptake (increasing mental energy)
• It boosts histamine levels in the brain (promoting wakefulness)

There are a few generic versions of modafinil currently available. A generic medication is a medication made by companies other than the original creator and patent holder of the drug.

Modalert and Modvigil are the main two generic options of modafinil available. They contain the same dose as Provigil® but cost significantly less.

What is Armodafinil?

As mentioned, armodafinil is the enantiopure version of modafinil, meaning that it is pure R-modafinil (armodafinil).

How does this compare to the racemic mixture of regular modafinil?

Well, the R-modafinil enantiomer was found to be slightly stronger in its effects.

The manufacturer, Cephalon Inc, released this drug under the brand name Nuvigil®. Instead of the same 200 mg dose given for modafinil, they released it in slightly smaller doses of 150 mg to make up for the increased potency.

Just like modafinil, there are a number of generic options available, made by pharmaceutical companies like Sun Pharmaceuticals, and HAB Pharmaceuticals.

These generic versions also contain the same active ingredient but cost a fraction of the price.

Popular generic versions include Waklert and Artvigil.

So Which Option is Better?

The truth is that there is no single answer to this question.

You probably didn’t like that answer so allow me to explain.

Some people much prefer modafinil, while others prefer the slightly more intense armodafinil. It all depends on how the drug affects you individually.

Although armodafinil is stronger, it’s given at a smaller dose (150 mg armodafinil compared to 200 mg modafinil).

A research study investigating the differences in effect profiles at these doses found no significant difference in effects between the two.

However, anecdotal evidence from people posting their experiences on forums like Reddit often report that the effects of Armodafinil come on faster, and are stronger for about an hour before starting to taper off throughout the day.

They also suggest that the duration of effects is slightly longer in armodafinil than modafinil.

Modafinil is reported to take longer to reach its peak and ends faster. The peak effects last longer than armodafinil, however.

It’s important to note that the differences between these two medications are subtle.

Either one is going to offer you some excellent benefits for your overall productivity.

Choosing between modafinil and armodafinil is useful for people trying to optimize their experience, fitting the medications differences to their lifestyle and workflow.

Where to Buy Generic Modafinil and Armodafinil

By now, you may be wondering where you can pick some of this modafinil up for yourself.

It can be a challenge getting the medication because it’s technically a prescription-only medication— in most of the world at least.

Some online vendors operate out of areas where these laws don’t apply, making modafinil available for purchase over the internet.

We recommend using older, more established vendors like AfinilExpress.com. These vendors have the most experience, offer the best discounts (use MODAFINILOTC at checkout to save 10% for example), and have been tried and tested by thousands of customers.

Most online modafinil vendors will carry all 4 of the products discussed here.

Now let’s get into the individual products;

A) Modafinil Generics

First up, let’s talk about the two most popular generic versions of modafinil, the racemic mixture of both right and left-handed modafinil enantiomers.

1. Modalert Overview

Modalert is the flagship product of the generic modafinil world. It’s the most popular generic version of the medication.

Part of the reason why Modalert is so popular is that it’s made by Sun Pharmaceuticals. They’re a large, multinational pharmaceutical company with a large footprint and millions of customers.

They’re a publicly traded company, which gives them a lot of financial stability and public interest.

In 2017 the company made $675 million in the United States alone, and another $385 million in the rest of the world.

Sun Pharmaceuticals has access to many of the best chemists, and researchers available, and put them to work whenever designing new drugs (such as their most recent release, Ilumya), as well as generic versions of existing drugs (like modafinil).

They produce excellent quality pharmaceuticals at an even better price.

Modalert Doses

Sun Pharmaceuticals makes a few different doses of Modalert:

• 100 mg
• 200 mg (standard)
• 400 mg

The most widely available size is the 200 mg option. The reason why the 200 mg dose is the most popular is because it’s the most versatile.

200 mg is the recommended starting dose for most modafinil users but can be doubled up for a 400 mg dose.

Additionally, the pills come with a crease down the middle so that users can easily split the tablets into two halves containing 100 mg doses.

This makes it possible to get all three doses by just buying the 200 mg tablets.

Modalert Review

There are no scientific comparisons of the different modafinil generics available, but there are a lot of user reports in online forums.

In general, Modalert is one of the more popular generic versions of modafinil. It’s said to offer stronger benefits on the dopamine pathway, which make it better for studying or boosting concentration.

People who are looking for the dopaminergic effects of modafinil should start with Modalert.

This makes it especially useful for students studying for an exam, ADHD sufferers, and people who want more of a boost in memory and concentration than direct mental stimulation.

Modvigil is another popular generic version of modafinil. It’s made by the large pharmaceutical company known as HAB Pharmaceuticals.

Unlike Sun Pharmaceuticals, HAB Pharma is a privately held company. For many people this doesn’t sound important, however, for some, this is a deal breaker.

Privately held companies are much less accountable for errors in testing, manufacturing, etc. They do most of their decision making behind closed doors and aren’t required to list any finances publicly.

This makes it easier to get away with issues and makes them safer from public relations catastrophes than publicly held companies.

We prefer to purchase medications from publicly held pharmaceutical companies for this reason.

I believe the extra pressure placed on them by governmental regulators, and public investors are useful for keeping the quality of their product as high as possible, even if doing so means taking a huge loss in profits from time to time.

With that said, HAB Pharma does make an excellent product.

Their main generic modafinil, Modvigil is loved by many in the nootropics community, and it is a staple product carried by most online modafinil vendors.

Few people are aware that HAB Pharma has two lines of generic modafinil products, though the second, Modawake and Armodawake, are not popular outside of India.

Modvigil Doses

HAB Pharma makes their Modvigil in two doses; 100 mg and 200 mg.

The most popular option is the 200 mg dose because if need be, the pill is easily broken in half to produce two, 100 mg doses.

Modvigil Review

Modvigil is thought to be the closest in its effect profiles to the brand name product, Provigil®. It has less of a focus on dopamine than Modalert and more effects on boosting arousal and wakefulness.

This makes Modvigil better for people suffering from fatigue including narcoleptics, shift-workers, and people with obstructive sleep apnea.

It’s also better if the primary goal of taking modafinil is to keep you as awake and alert as possible.

B) Armodafinil Generics

Just like modafinil, there are a few different generic options for armodafinil.

The main two we’ll be discussing are also made by Sun Pharmaceuticals and HAB Pharma.

1. Waklert Overview

Waklert is Sun Pharmaceuticals version of Armodafinil.

Similarly to Modalert, this product has an excellent track record regarding quality.

There’s no surprise here since it’s made in the same labs.

Whenever new drugs are made, the manufacturer must first put the medication through rigorous testing through phase 3 clinical trials.

This can take several years to complete, and often costs a few hundred million dollars.

Whenever making a generic drug, the manufacturers will apply for something called an ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application). If approved, they attain the rights to manufacture the drug without having first performed the tedious and expensive clinical trials beforehand.

This is exactly what Sun Pharmaceuticals did to get their generic version of armodafinil on the market.

As part of the application, they must agree to manufacture the drug in exactly the same dose. The only difference is the fillers and packaging used.

Therefore, whenever you buy Sun Pharmaceuticals Waklert, you can be sure that it will be virtually identical to the brand name version, Nuvigil®.

Waklert Dose

You can buy Waklert in its standard dose of 150 mg. These pills are easily split in half if you’d like to take a smaller 75 mg dose instead.

Due to the stronger effects of Waklert compared to other armodafinil options, 150mg is usually enough for most people, however, sometimes people need to increase the dose, and will usually start with either one and a half, or two Waklert tablets per day.

Be cautious when taking double doses of Waklert, however, as it can be extreme if you aren’t familiar with the effects.

Waklert Review

Most people that take these medications notice no differences between Nuvigil® and Waklert.

However, people that take the medications often, and have tried different options notice some subtle differences between the different options.

In the case of Waklert, people generally report this to be the strongest version of Armodafinil available. The effects take about 2 hours to reach their peak and are slightly stronger than both Artvigil at 150 mg, and Modalert and Modvigil at 200 mg.

This makes it useful as a powerhouse for people who want the most potent effects possible without having to double dose.

2. Artvigil Overview

Artvigil is one of two generic armodafinil options offered by HAB Pharmaceuticals.

The other one they make is called R-Modawake but is far less popular.

Artvigil has a long half-life, which means that it takes a long time for the drug to clear out of the system.

It provides immediate effects (1–2 hours until peak), which tapers off gradually over the remaining 14–16 hours.

Artvigil Dosage

Artvigil is most common in the 150 mg dose, though some people prefer to split the tablet in half for a 75 mg dose instead.

Artvigil Review

HAB Pharma’s Artvigil is very similar to Waklert but slightly less potent. It’s thought to have more fillers. However, this has not yet been proven.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many people find the more intense Waklert version to be too stimulating.

If this is the case for you, then Artvigil may be a better option, or you could try stepping down to the less intense modafinil options like Modvigil and Modalert.

Ultimately all of these products are coming to give you improvements in your productivity. The main thing to test and play around with is which ones are going to provide you with the most benefit without causing you too feel overstimulated.

Everyone is different.

One of the most common reasons for taking modafinil is for its ability to increase study efficiency.

It increases a vital neurotransmitter called dopamine in the brain by preventing the neurons from reabsorbing and breaking it down after it’s been released.

Although all of these options will work to improve your studying efforts, the best option is likely to be Modalert by Sun Pharmaceuticals.

The reason why Modalert is considered the best for students is that it has a stronger effect on dopamine levels in the brain than the other options.

Dopamine is critical in the process of learning.

Conditions like ADHD, characterized by an inability to concentrate or remain motivated on tasks often have measurable reductions in dopamine levels [1].

Drugs like modafinil and Adderall that are known to boost dopamine levels have shown significant improvements in ADHD sufferer’s ability to concentrate on a single task.

In healthy individuals, these effects serve to push dopamine levels above normal levels while the drug takes its effect. Users report enhanced concentration and remember things faster and longer when studying with modafinil.

If your primary goal for taking modafinil is to boost your efficiency while studying for a big test, Modalert is your best option.

The Best Budget Modafinil

Provigil can cost users as much as $1500 for a month supply. This is outrageous when you consider the fact that you can buy the same, high-quality modafinil in generic form for less than $1 per tablet at places like Afinil Express.

Any generic modafinil is going to be a lot cheaper, even if you’re looking for the slightly more expensive armodafinil.

Among the generic versions, Modvigil is the cheapest.

At the normal 200 mg dose, a 20 day supply will cost users USD $42 total, making the cost per tablet $2.10.

As you buy them in higher quantities, the price becomes even more economical.

For example, a 100 day supply of Modvigil will cost you $110, bringing the price per tablet down to just $1.10.

A 300-dose supply will cost $240, making the cost per tablet just $0.80.

This is the cheapest modafinil you’re likely to find without sacrificing quality. There are cheaper options out there, but we recommend you stay away due to issues with quality control, and potential contamination.

The Best Modafinil for Beginners

If you’re just starting out using modafinil, you may be wondering what the best options for beginners are.

I would recommend Modalert if you’re just starting out because it’s stimulating effects are the most tolerable.

This option is less stimulating than the other options (though only slightly) and therefore less likely to cause side effects.

The main problem with beginners when taking modafinil is that they’re sometimes not well-equipped for managing side effects like anxiety.

Modafinil is a stimulant and a powerful one at that.

One of the main side effects of stimulants is anxiety, which is very manageable and even preventable if you have experience but can be quite distressing for new users.

This is why we recommend using Modalert for your first time. Going a step further we also recommend users try a half dose for their first one or two sessions and increasing once you have an idea of what the drug feels like.

For additional support during your first time using modafinil, have a look at our guide to preventing or managing side effects.

If you go into your first experience knowing how to manage side effects, you’re going to have a much more enjoyable experience overall.

The Best Modafinil for Experienced Users

All of the generic modafinil options discussed in this article are going to help you with your work and productivity.

Some, however, are going to be slightly more potent in their effects than others.

Experienced users will be more familiar with the effects of modafinil, and know how to manage potential side effects like anxiety, headaches, or insomnia. If you’re an experienced user who understands this side of modafinil and want something a little stronger and long-lasting, we recommend Waklert.

This armodafinil generic made by Sun Pharmaceuticals is the strongest product in the lineup.

Its effects will reach a peak in about 1-2 hours, remains for about 3 hours, and then tapers off throughout the rest of the day.

On average it lasts about 2 or 3 hours longer than both Modalert and Modvigil, and about 1 hour longer than Artvigil.

Which Modafinil is the Best Overall?

All the modafinil’s options on this list are very similar and are all very useful for studying, working, and treating sleeping disorders.

The differences between them are subtle, but this can be used to produce optimal effects depending on what you’re looking to get out of your modafinil use.

There is no single “best” modafinil out there; each one is going to be slightly different for everybody.

If you’re looking for a modafinil product for a specific task, like studying, working, or just looking for the cheapest option, follow our guides above.

Also, remember that armodafinil (Waklert and Artvigil) tend to be more intense. For some people, this is too strong, but for others the higher intensity is desirable.

It comes down to the individual, so we recommend people try a few different options before deciding on which one they prefer.

References:

1. Li, D., Sham, P. C., Owen, M. J., & He, L. (2006). Meta-analysis shows significant association between dopamine system genes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Human molecular genetics, 15(14), 2276-2284.
2. Ferraro, L. N., Antonelli, T., O’Connor, W., Tanganelli, S., Rambert, F. A., & Fuxe, K. (1997). Modafinil: an antinarcoleptic drug with a different neurochemical profile to d-amphetamine and dopamine uptake blockers. Biological psychiatry, 42, 1181-1187.
3. Wisor, J. P., Nishino, S., Sora, I., Uhl, G. H., Mignot, E., & Edgar, D. M. (2001). Dopaminergic role in stimulant-induced wakefulness. Journal of Neuroscience, 21(5), 1787-1794.
4. Lin, J. S., Hou, Y., & Jouvet, M. (1996). Potential brain neuronal targets for amphetamine-, methylphenidate-, and modafinil-induced wakefulness, evidenced by c-fos immunocytochemistry in the cat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 93(24), 14128-14133.

Beginners Guide to Modafinil for Weight Loss

Modafinil is a wakefulness-promoting drug also known as a “eugeroic.”

It’s used by doctors to treat sleeping disorders like shift-work, sleep disorders, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

One of the most common “side effects” reported among modafinil users is weight-loss.

This has attracted the interest of people seeking out new ways to shed some extra pounds.

Here, we go into how modafinil offers weight loss support, how to be safe while using it, and what the research says about this method of weight loss.

How do we Become Overweight?

Although many different factors are contributing to our body weight, the most basic way of thinking about our weight is with this basic formula:

CALORIES IN – CALORIES BURNED = +/- WEIGHT CHANGE  

For example, if you consume 3200 calories per day and spend only 2500 calories that same day, you will have an excess of about 700 calories.

If this is done repeatedly, there will be a gradual increase in weight in the form of fat.

Why is Excess Energy Stored as Fat?

The body’s cells use sugar contained in the bloodstream as a source of energy.

Blood sugar isn’t able to enter our cells directly. It needs to be escorted by a hormone known as insulin.

Once inside the cell, glucose can be broken down to produce energy.

When we’re overweight, it means that the cells have access to more energy than we need. The body then stores any excess energy as fat.

Modafinil For Weight Loss

There is no such thing as a “magic fat-burning pill” no matter who claims there to be one.

Even modafinil is not a magic pill.

There are, however, tools that can be used to push the body in the direction you want to get to sooner— in this case, weight-loss.

Don’t think of the modafinil as a “fat-burner,” think of it as a way to boost motivation, and support diet and lifestyle modifications.

Modafinil will help you to get over the issues of food cravings while dieting and helps cultivate the lifestyle and diet habits that are conducive to a healthy weight.

1. Modafinil Suppresses Appetite

A common side effect of modafinil use is a loss of appetite.

This comes as a direct result of the stimulating effects the drug has on the central nervous system.

There are two main halves of the nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).

The SNS is responsible for the “fight or flight” response. It also makes us feel alert and awake during the day. It stimulates the muscles, brain, heart, lungs, and adrenal glands.

Its goal is to provide a boost in energy levels and sensory perception.

Along with stimulating parts of the nervous system responsible for that extra energy and awareness, the SNS also slows down organ systems that aren’t immediately essential for getting us out of danger.

This involves the digestive and immune systems, as well as the kidneys.

One of the byproducts of shutting down digestive function is the suppression of hunger cravings.

2. Modafinil Increases Metabolism

Metabolism can be thought of as the body’s “flow of energy.” This is how we store and use the energy we obtain from our diet.

Human metabolism is very complicated. It relies on a carefully balanced interaction of chemicals like hormones and neurotransmitters interacting with the liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and individual cells around the body.

Typically, the body’s cells extract sugar from the blood using a hormone called insulin. Once in the cell, it can be broken down to produce energy. When we are overweight, it the cells have access to more energy than they need.

The body stores the extra energy in the form of fat.

3. Modafinil Boosts Motivation

Motivation is an advantageous process in the human body. It controls our daily habits and our drive to accomplish tasks.

Some of our strongest motivating factors include hunger, the desire to reproduce, and our need for success & security.

Motivation is powered by several important structures in the brain and is mediated by the hormone dopamine.

Some people lack enough dopamine to carry out the process of motivationeffectively. People with ADHD for example, often have lower dopamine levels in the brain and may find it difficult to complete particular tasks to completion.

One of the primary functions of modafinil is to increase dopamine levels in the brain. This is how it’s used for treating conditions like ADHD associated with lowered dopamine levels.

Even people without diagnosed ADHD can benefit from modafinil’s dopamine enhancing capabilities.

This is the main reason why people choose to take modafinil for boosting their focus and concentration. It may also serve as a useful tool for optimizing the process of motivation, helping us stick to our plans more easily.

This can, therefore, increase our motivation to diet successfully. A lot of people can benefit from some extra motivation to stick it through until they reach their target weight goals.

How to use Modafinil for Weight Loss

The bottom line when it comes to weight loss is always going to be diet and lifestyle. They are the underlying causes of excess weight, to begin with.

Unfortunately, no pill will ever be able to replace the right balance between diet and exercise.

With that said, modafinil is a handy tool for boosting the weight loss process and helping us stick to the plan.

We can use modafinil to help us get through the most challenging part of the process in the first couple of weeks, as well as long-term to help maintain our newly formed habits.

Understanding the limitations of modafinil, along with its strengths will help you to use the medication more effectively in your weight loss regimen.

Here are five simple steps for using modafinil as a weight loss supportive medication. This takes into account our mental philosophy and goal setting process, as well as diet and lifestyle changes.

We’ve all heard it before that weight loss program advertising a weight loss of 10 pounds per week! It sounds great, but this is not a realistic (or safe) goal.

These diet plans almost always fail because they condition people to think about their weight loss as a short-term plan.

THIS IS THE WRONG WAY TO THINK ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS.

Most people on these plans will lose a lot of weight during the first week of the diet, then gradually less until the diet, either ends or they give up, at which point they often gain all the weight back and more.

This is due to the loss of water weight in the first week and motivation issues in the weeks following.

Think about it like this; it took you a while to reach the weight you’re at, so it will take a while to lose it again.

Although tools like modafinil can be beneficial for speeding this process up, weight loss will always be a long-term thing. This is why it’s best to look at weight loss as a long-term dietary/lifestyle change.

Make a plan for weight loss in months, rather than weeks or days.

This will stand a much higher chance of success than short-term planning will ever provide.

Planning Your Weight Loss Goal

To do this, look at your current weight and compare this to your ideal weight. You can use tools like the Body Mass Index to help identify a healthy target weight.

Let’s say you find out you need to lose about 60 pounds to reach your ideal weight. A realistic goal for achieving this and keeping it off is to do this over about 4 or 5 months.

This would involve consuming smaller portions of food and exercising at least three times per week.

Remember to be honest with yourself when setting this goal.

You want to set a goal that you can stick to and accomplish. Otherwise, you’re more likely to fail and become discouraged. If you don’t think you’re going to adhere to the exercise regimen you’ve set, change it.

Maybe aim for the targeted 60 pounds in 12 months instead.

There is nothing wrong with that.

Step 2: Understand Your Energy Requirements

The easiest way to start is to calculate what we call your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR for short.

This is a calculation that takes into account your age, gender, height, and weight to estimate how much calories you use on a daily basis to sustain life.

This doesn’t include any activities you do during the day. You can add these on after.

This is the number of calories your body would consume each day if you were to just sit in a chair all day without moving a muscle.

The average human female needs about 1400 calories per day. The average male needs about 1800 calories per day.

Age, weight, and height also play a major role in this, so it’s best to calculate your own. A great tool to use to find this out is this online BMR calculator.

From here, you can add your level of exercise to get your total metabolic rate.

You can find approximates for different activities, such as this one provided by the United States Government. You can also use built-in tools found on many exercise machines, or use a generic calculator like this one by Many Tools to calculate this based on daily activity level.

Remember, it doesn’t need to be super precise, it just needs to give a good ballpark figure so you can make a reasonable estimate of how much food you should be eating each day.

By understanding your daily energy needs, it puts the calorie levels listed on many of the foods your eating into perspective.

Step 3: Plan Your Meals

Now that you know how much energy you use in a day (approximate), it’s time to start thinking about the food your eating.

The goal is to consume fewer calories through the food your eating than your body needs for the day.

One of the most common ways to do this is through portion control.

This is how popular weight loss regimens like Jenny Craig do it, which has worked for many people over the years.

It’s done by eating the same meals you were before, but about 25-50% smaller portions than usual.

The best way to do this is to search for the number of calories contained in each meal. This can be done with online tools like My Fitness Pal.

You can enter your meals into the database to get the approximate caloric breakdown of the meal.

Portion control can be challenging.

Eating large meals every day for long periods can increase the capacity of the stomach. We adapt to the large meal sizes and begin to depend on these large portions to make us feel satisfied

When we change our diets, the body needs to adjust all over again to the smaller portions.

This can take time.

Many people find these cravings a challenge, and fail before any of the benefits can be seen.

Fortunately, there are tools you can use to beat these cravings, such as modafinil, which leads us into step number 4.

Step 4: Take Modafinil

Modafinil can be an excellent tool for promoting weight loss. It works by increasing the rate of our metabolism (and thus energy usage). It also has the added benefit of lowering our appetite to support smaller meal sizes.

The worst part of cutting our food intake is the cravings it causes.

This often leads people to break the diet. In many cases, they rebound even further than they were before.

Modafinil cuts cravings through its modulating effect on the part of the hunger center of the brain. This makes it easy to reduce the amount of food we consume in a day.

The best way to use modafinil is to take it first thing in the morning after a healthy breakfast.

This helps maximize the effects of the modafinil during the peak waking hours of the day and ensures we get our vital nutrients in the morning.

Throughout the day, modafinil increases our metabolic rate and cuts hunger cravings — many people taking modafinil report going all day without eating a meal.

It can be harmful if we go too long without food, which is why we recommend taking your modafinil AFTER breakfast.

This will usually cut hunger cravings until around dinner time.

Step 5: Exercise Daily

Managing the amount of energy you burn is just as important as managing the amount of energy you consume.

To produce the net loss of energy needed to lose weight, you need to increase how much energy your body is using on a daily basis.

This can be as simple as walking every day or as complex as getting a personal trainer.

Looking at weight loss as a long-term plan is very useful for exercise.

This allows you to start at whatever pace you can and build gradually.

Perhaps in the first week, you do some extra walking, then add to that the following week with a light jog. You can increase this gradually over time to include more demanding exercises.

The Safety of Using Modafinil for Weight Loss

Modafinil is considered a safe medication but can cause some undesired side effects.

The most common side effects people experience when taking modafinil for weight loss is insomnia, anxiety, and headaches.

Both of these side effects are usually brought on by dehydration or overstimulation. Therefore managing them relies on relaxing the central nervous system and ensuring at least 2.5 liters (84 oz) of water is consumed each day.

To learn more about potential side effects and how to avoid or manage them, check this guide out.

Summary: Modafinil for Weightloss

Modafinil can be a very useful tool for promoting weight loss.

It supports smaller portion sizes by lowering appetite, increases energy usage by boosting metabolism, and improves motivation by increasing dopamine concentrations.

Modafinil is best used as a weight loss supportive by combining it with changes to diet and lifestyle. Smaller portion sizes and exercise are an excellent place to start. Modafinil is then used to optimize these changes.

By setting a realistic goal, changing your routines around food and exercise, and a little bit of a modafinil boost, you can push the body towards a healthy weight safely and effectively.